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I look at this and see the mess like everyone else. I have stopped judging these things. Where had the tech been before this job? Was the sun still up? Snowing? Raining? What else was he expected to do that day?

I still see the ads for "traveling road crews" that are invited into an area to run up the numbers for an HSP. "If they are watching DTV when you leave you will be paid."

Who is dedicated to quality to the extent that they will go to this job and fix it for FREE? Do you think the "tech" who did this is still working?

After seeing the mess that the OP received, I had to show you what a quality install I received. The Mastec installer was very neat and mounted the dish on the back roof of my house with access to the Southwest over the peak of my roof. He also ran the cable under the lip of the overhang, so you can hardly see the cable. From the street, you would never know there is a dish on the roof. Of course having the SWM LNB, makes for a neater installation as well.

This is exactly why I do all of my own installs. I can't help myself when I drive around neighborhoods. I always look at installs to see how they did it. I'm firmly convinced that DirecTV and DishNetwork installers are told to put the dish in a VERY prominant location where it can be easily seen from the street.

There's one about a block away from me with the dish right on the front garage roof peak with the cables just stretched across the roof. That dish could EASILY have been mounted on the side of the house beside the A/C and still had clear LOS. And been a lot easier to service if necessary.

I hardly ever mount a dish on the roof. A pole mount out in the corner of the lot or a tripod mount on the side of the house down low is much preferred.

I'm firmly convinced that DirecTV and DishNetwork installers are told to put the dish in a VERY prominant location where it can be easily seen from the street.

No, they are taught to install the dish near the house's ground source, which is where the service entrance for the utilities, including cable, is located. This allows the dish to be properly grounded and provides the shortest cable path, meaning less visible cable on the outside of the house and the best possible signal.

Mounting the dish elsewhere may also require custom mounts that customers don't want to pay for.

Its not the worst install. The worst is when your dish is pointing between the trees and every time you get wind you lose signal. In other words something that prevents you from watching TV in your living room. If you been watching TV for 7 months without a problem then you are much better off than many others. If you lose signal basically all you will need is realignment and addition of 2 monopoles. Put tar or silicone around lag bolts.
Job was done bad but once again as long as your TV watching experience is trouble free you are in good shape.

This is exactly why I do all of my own installs. I can't help myself when I drive around neighborhoods. I always look at installs to see how they did it. I'm firmly convinced that DirecTV and DishNetwork installers are told to put the dish in a VERY prominant location where it can be easily seen from the street.

There's one about a block away from me with the dish right on the front garage roof peak with the cables just stretched across the roof. That dish could EASILY have been mounted on the side of the house beside the A/C and still had clear LOS. And been a lot easier to service if necessary.

I hardly ever mount a dish on the roof. A pole mount out in the corner of the lot or a tripod mount on the side of the house down low is much preferred.

Clean, tidy installs are all I do....

-Charles

Dish on front of the house is a failed QC. We required to install on the back of side of the house. If your service panel is on the side where it can be seen from the street then thats where the dish is going. Ask your builder to put service panel on the back of the home next time.

I look at this and see the mess like everyone else. I have stopped judging these things. Where had the tech been before this job? Was the sun still up? Snowing? Raining? What else was he expected to do that day?

I still see the ads for "traveling road crews" that are invited into an area to run up the numbers for an HSP. "If they are watching DTV when you leave you will be paid."

Who is dedicated to quality to the extent that they will go to this job and fix it for FREE? Do you think the "tech" who did this is still working?

Joe

Same here. In this particular case the old dish probably was installed on the same spot (look where the old cable goes) so tech took it off the roof and mounted the new one using same existing holes. Maybe thats why no monopoles.

If I see an existing hole in the wall thats 2 inches in diameter? What do I do? Drill a new one? No. I use that hole that already there then cover it with a plate or find some solution. Somebody can look and say that technician did it, he was a moron and caused major damage.

Problems:- AT9 dish should NOT have been installed 7 months ago; should have been Slimline

They could hav!e at least given you the Slimline

I agree with all of the responses calling this a poor install except for these. I realize that the Slimline is the standard dish now, but what if all they had left at the time were the sidecar dishes? Most customers would rather have their service installed now than to have to wait for them to get a Slimline. There are enough delayed installs as it is. Obviously I don't know if this was the case or not, but it is a possibility. My tech had to call around and find a dish to do my install...and I was the first of the day. He didn't think he was going to find one.

Why all the hate for the sidecar dish anyway? I know there were some back in the day with bad LNBs, but my experience with the sidecar dish on my old house was better than with my current Slimline. I just seem to have more rain fade issues with the Slimline (and yes the alignment is good on the Slimline). I must be the only person around here that preferred the sidecar dish. I almost took that sidecar dish down and brought it with me when I moved...

The sidecar AT-9 dish, with it's exposed jumpers, is a recipe for signal disaster. Those cables aren't very UV stable and get brittle and crack, and aren't well moisture-sealed. It was just a bad design all around. Not to mention, there are no spare parts, so WHEN it breaks, it must be replaced with a Slimline.

If you don't have any overhang area, it means the dish does not go on the roof. No penetrations, including lag bolts, are allowed over the living space of the house. On an overhang, if the roof leaks despite measures taken against it, the leak is already outside, and won't damage anything. If the dish is mounted over the living space, who knows what could get damaged due to a leak?

There are several custom mounting options available to prevent such a bad choice from having to be made.

If you don't have any overhang area, it means the dish does not go on the roof. No penetrations, including lag bolts, are allowed over the living space of the house. On an overhang, if the roof leaks despite measures taken against it, the leak is already outside, and won't damage anything. If the dish is mounted over the living space, who knows what could get damaged due to a leak?

There are several custom mounting options available to prevent such a bad choice from having to be made.

Even if the dish is mounted on the overhang you get service calls as in:

"Ever since that satellite thing went on my roof I get water in my basement when it rains. My son called them and wants insurance money to fix it right!"

So I met with the son and we went into the basement to look at the water. While in the basement the dishwasher went on and the water flowed. There was an unglued PVC joint and it leaked rain or shine on the opposite of the building from the DTV dish.

So it cost me an hour to explain that there would be no insurance money to fix anything. If I had been with an HSP this would have also cost me $100.00.